Month: September 2013

I had a great time ticking things off of my Summer Fun Bucket List, and just about as much fun anticipating each item on the list! I’ve made another list for Autumn, which just so happens to be my favorite season (but seems to go by so fast!).

The amazing thing is that yesterday I had my first honey crisp apple of the season and a nice hot mug of vanilla chai, and yet at Rosy Mound the sun was shining and I was a little warm. I even walked along the beach with my jeans rolled up and my feet in the water.

Whenever I go to Rosy Mound it’s almost like a private oasis–I rarely bump into more than a few people every 20-30 minutes. The lake always seems endless, and it always makes me smile without necessarily understanding why. I get excited and feel like the world is so open and I can do anything, and yet I know fall will progress into winter and I worry about getting through. It’s like my frustrations about my professional life loom behind it all. But. Anyway. I guess that’s why I need to focus on little things to get me through, like my lovely little bucket lists.

Some of the things listed have been moved over from my Summer Fun Bucket List, but many of the things are new. What are some of your fall to-do’s?

Years ago when I studied abroad in Japan, we took a field trip to Kobe for my Japan & Globalization class. One of the primary focuses of the trip was to observe the China Town in Kobe, and while we were there we sampled different kinds of food. One new food I tried was Egg Tarts. They were served mini-sized, two on a skewer. I loved them so much that when I moved to Kobe years later, I looked for them everywhere! Alas, my search was in vain. Luckily, (even more years later!) I came across a recipe for Egg Tarts so that I could try making them myself–just in time to fulfill another check off my summer bucket list.

To make the egg tarts, you only need a small collection of some everyday ingredients: powdered sugar, white sugar, butter, eggs, vanilla, flour, evaporated milk and water.

You start off mixing the powdered sugar and flour together, and then you add the butter. The recipe suggests using a fork to do this, but let’s be real; your hands or a Kitchen Aid mixer will probably be much easier. I cut my butter up into chunks to help the mixing go faster.

Next you add a beaten egg and a bit of vanilla, mixing until you get a dough that’s not too moist or too dry. You can see how mine turned out in the picture above.

The recipe says to use tart molds for the dough, but a muffin tin works just as well. I used a mini muffin tin so I could make smaller tarts like the ones I had tried back in Kobe. To form the crust, I balled small amounts of dough, placed them in the tin, pressed in the middles with my thumb, and then pushed the dough up the edges with a fork to add a decorative edge.

Next, you preheat the oven and start on the filling. First you’re going to boil the sugar and water together until the sugar dissolves, and then wait for the mixture to return to room temperature. I was in a hurry, so I put the mixture in the refrigerator to get it to cool down faster. While you’re waiting for the temperature to drop, you can beat your eggs and put them through a strainer. Then, add them to the room-temp water/sugar mix before adding the condensed milk and vanilla. As you can see above, that mix gets strained one more time after it’s been whisked.

From there, you just fill up your dough with the filling (my little tartlets got about a tablespoon each, but some overflowed when I brought the pan to the oven). Since my egg tarts were smaller than normal-sized tarts, I decreased the baking time to 12 minutes, and they turned out perfectly. I sprinkled a little powdered sugar on the finished ones as a garnish, and once they were cool, indulged on like 5 of them a few.

It’s best to let these little guys cool before eating them because they taste sweeter and less eggy that way. Enjoy!

Directions
1.In a medium bowl, mix together the confectioners’ sugar and flour. Mix in butter with a fork until it is in small crumbs. Stir in the egg and vanilla until the mixture forms a dough. The texture should be slightly moist. Add more butter if it is too dry, or more flour, if the dough seems greasy. Shape dough into 1 1/2 inch balls, and press the balls into tart molds so that it covers the bottom, and goes up higher than the sides. Use 2 fingers to shape the edge into an A shape.

2.Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Combine the white sugar and water in a medium saucepan, and bring to a boil. Cook until the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Strain the eggs through a sieve (strainer), and whisk into the sugar mixture. Stir in the evaporated milk and vanilla. Strain the filling through a sieve (strainer), and fill the tart shells.

3.Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven, until golden brown, and the filling is puffed up a little bit.

With just a few days left of summer, I decided to look over my summer bucket list and check my progress. I managed to do a lot over the summer, despite being very busy with getting accustomed to American life (or at least, trying my best to!), getting a new job, and working on getting our first house (more on that soon!). Some of the uncompleted items will be moving onto my Fall Bucket List (more soon on that, too!), but there are a few I think I might be able to scratch off before it’s officially fall–one of which is making Banana Splits!

I decided to make a mini version of the treat as a full-blown one just seems like too much. It got me to wondering if the name “banana split” came from the need to split the dish, but it seems it’s only from splitting the banana in two. I learned after reading an article on banana splits that cutting the banana in half crosswise rather than lengthwise actually changes the name from a Banana Split to a Banana Royale.

To make my “Banana Royale,” I used a little less than half of a banana, a scoop of Eddy’s No-Sugar Added Vanilla Ice Cream, some whipped cream, a little chocolate syrup, and a cherry on top. I ate it outside in the sunshine, and felt like a little kid again. I didn’t have Banana Splits all that often growing up, but something about the combination of flavors just transported me back to being a little girl, kicking my feet back and forth in the sunshine without a care in the world.

Yesterday I made a little picnic lunch and went to Rosy Mound in Grand Haven. I had never walked there before, and boy was I in for a treat! It was a gorgeous day, and after eating lunch under the shade of the big, beautiful trees, I started my walk. I didn’t get very far before I heard a “thunk, thunk, thunk,” sound and saw hunks of bark falling from a tree beside the path. I looked up, searching for the culprit of the noise and the falling tree bark, and saw two pileated woodpeckers! I was so excited–I don’t remember ever seeing them in real life before. I laughed to myself as I saw them pecking away, reminded of the Woody the Woodpecker cartoons I used to watch as a child. A man came up behind and whispered excitedly, “A pileated woodpecker!” I said, “Yeah, there are two!” He told me that they usually travel in pairs, keeping the same pairs for life. He had seen them in Florida before, but never in Michigan. A nice surprise for both of us.

Continuing on the trail, I came upon a view of the beach. I always love it when you emerge from a wooded area and catch glimpses of the blue water in contrast to the green and brown of the trees.

As I continued on the trail, I couldn’t help but smile. I felt so much joy at the breath-taking sight of sunlight on water. Seagulls played together in the sand and in the air, I saw butterflies fluttering about, and I thought of a line from Anne Frank’s diary: “The best remedy for those who are afraid, lonely or unhappy is to go outside, somewhere where they can be quite alone with the heavens, nature and God. Because only then does one feel that all is as it should be and that God wishes to see people happy, amidst the simple beauty of nature. As longs as this exists, and it certainly always will, I know that then there will always be comfort for every sorrow, whatever the circumstances may be. And I firmly believe that nature brings solace in all troubles.” What an encouragement!

I sort of ate my share of some Peach Tarts I made before going on my picnic rather than taking them with me, but I’m sure they played a role in my lovely time. I didn’t have any pecans around, so I used some Hazelnuts instead, and they turned out great!

Below is the recipe for the tarts, sure to result in a happy mood when combined with a walk outside on a gorgeous day.

Peach Tarts

2 large firm-ripe peaches

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 cup finely chopped pecans (or hazlenuts or walnuts)

4 sheets phyllo dough, thawed if frozen

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1. Place a rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment.

2. Cut peaches in half and remove pits. Place a peach half cut-side down on cutting board. Holding it together with one hand, cut 6 to 8 even slices through the stem end, then push gently to fan out. Combine sugar, nutmeg and pecans in a bowl.

3. Place one phyllo sheet on counter with narrow side facing you. Brush bottom half lightly with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar-pecan mixture. Fold top half over bottom half, pressing lightly. Repeat, folding top half over bottom half. Repeat again, this time brushing and sprinkling left half and folding right half over. Repeat once more. You should now have a 3-by-4-inch rectangle. Place on baking sheet. Repeat with remaining 3 phyllo sheets. Place a fanned peach half in center of each phyllo rectangle, brush with remaining butter and sprinkle with remaining sugar mixture.

4. Bake until phyllo is golden brown and crisp and peach has softened, 20 to 25 minutes, rotating pan halfway through. Place on a wire rack to cool.

About eight years ago, I had the fortune of being able to meet my favorite poet, Gary Snyder, in person at a reading he did at Grand Valley State University (one of his poems is actually responsible for the name of this blog). He read several poems from his book Danger on Peaks, and afterwards he did a signing. When we met, we talked briefly about how I had studied in Japan and how I was going to go back one day (he lived there for some time, too). I wanted so much to explain how wonderful his poems were to me, and to talk for him about nature and Asia and life. But, the line of his fans had to keep moving, so I tried my best to express as much as I could with a “thank you.”

Though I had read several other books of Snyder’s poetry before going to see him read that day, I hadn’t read Danger on Peaks. It was exciting to hear him read poems that were new to me, and I sat fully focused the entire time. For his final reading, Snyder decided to close with a poem called “Falling from a Height, Holding Hands.” He explained that he wrote it after watching a news story on 9/11, and as he read the poem aloud, everyone listening seemed to hold their breath. The poem was so simple, and yet–like so many of his poems–captured so much. His explanation and reading was so moving that I was brought to tears, and like the rest of the audience, couldn’t manage to speak. He must have gauged the effect the poem had, because–suddenly–he decided to read just one more: “To All the Girls Whose Ears I Pierced Back Then.” Our hearts lifted in laughter, and I felt so inspired. What an amazing talent he has–he can bring people from tears to laughter in just moments with his writing.

I know that without actually being there to hear him speak it may be hard to fully grasp the emotions in the room that day, but I still feel a stirring in my heart when I read “Falling From a Height, Holding Hands.” I’ve included the poem below, along with “To All the Girls Whose Ears I Pierced Back Then.” These poems remind me to remember the tragedy of 9/11 and to avoid becoming desensitized. They also remind me to focus on the importance of growing, learning, laughing, loving, and cherishing life.

Over the weekend we went to Wheatland Music Festival in Remus, Michigan. It was so nice to go after about 5 years of being in Japan during the festival, even if we did have to volunteer one night for 8 hours straight (admittedly, there were a few exciting moments in the 8 PM- 4AM shift!). After taking a bunch of pictures throughout the weekend, I realized I didn’t really take any of our campsite or of any of the stages or food vendors! I guess I’ll just have to share those with you next year. In the meantime, I hope you enjoy the ones I did manage to take 🙂

Chad starting out Wheatland with a little honey whiskey & a birthday oreo (I also managed to forget to take a picture of us singing him Happy Birthday with his little Blueberry Cheesecake!)

We were lucky to camp with some wonderful musicians!

We tried out the Starbucks VIA packets–did you think I could seriously go a weekend without Starbucks? 😉

Chad making coffee Saturday morning ❤

Something we look forward to every year: Blueberry Pancake Sausage on a Stick (shortened to B.P. S.O.S.)

Chad starting a hemp bracelet.

Time for a saw workshop with my sister-in-law Ariel’s dad!

Chad trying the saw for the first time (and Ariel supporting him in the background with a little PBR)

One of Ariel’s friends brought a portable darkroom & took old time photographs of Thom (Ariel’s dad) with his saw.

Ariel working on her friendship bracelet back at the campsite.

Chad working on his friendship bracelet.

Our completed friendship bracelets! We didn’t give up or get jealous of each other’s bracelets because…friendship doesn’t give up or get jealous.

A cool tree stump carving in Middle Ground

Chad and I made birdhouses! Bird house and friendship bracelet-making at Wheatland fulfilled two fun things on my Summer Fun Bucket List. Can’t wait to use our bird houses at our first house if everything goes well with closing! (By the way, don’t you just love Ariel’s expression as she sneaks a peek over Chad’s shoulder?)

We also made Aromatherapy Bath Salts. It was super easy!

We had a lot of fun at Wheatland, and are looking forward to going back next year. Do you like going to festivals? Which is your favorite?

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a mommy in Michigan after living most of my adult life teaching preschool in Japan. love art, reading, writing, traveling, finding little cafes, learning, cooking, laughing, and most of all my sweet little daughter and my husband. lover of sweets & good news. obsessed with coffee.